2024 Cognizant Classic R4 Cancelled: Fans Given Massive Relief as Delay Slaps PGA Tour With Worry

The Florida Swings were set to experience a wonderful start on the PGA Tour. But it appears things don’t always go the way one imagines them to be. Unfortunately, the Cognizant Classic has been hit with a setback yet again, it seems, as the final round of the ninth event on the 2024 PGA Tour calendar shared a similar fate as the first two rounds which got delayed due to darkness on the course.

Come Sunday, the fourth and final day of play was interrupted by severe weather as well, causing it to get suspended, as a result. However, fans need not fear, as the Jay Monahan-led circuit came up with a proper solution to conduct the rest of the play on the next day, thereby enabling the event to witness its first Monday finish since 2015.

Round 4 suspended due to darkness

An announcement was made by the tournament officials as severe weather affected the state of play. As per the statement, the final round of play is set to resume at 4:20 p.m. on Monday, i.e., the 4th of March. Moreover, it also mentions how “all ticketed spectators may re-enter the property using their original ticket for the day,” all the while urging for the patience and understanding of the fans.

What happened? Well, the final round in the Palm Beaches was halted at 12:49 p.m. ET at PGA National’s Champion course, due to which it was delayed for a total of 3 hours and 30 minutes. Although the original tee timings of Shane Lowry and David Skinns, the leaders on the scoreboard, were set at 1:40 P.M., the delay forced them to hit their first shot at 5:10 P.M.

The golfers, owing to the heavy weather on the course, were removed from the grounds as it passed through. After a while, the practice facility reopened at around 3 p.m., leading the various teams to prepare the course for conducting the rest of the play. Nevertheless, the event wasn’t able to see its climax, with the area experiencing sunset by 6:23 p.m., causing them to decide on a Monday finish.

At the time of suspension, Lowry, who finished the third day at T1 tied with Skinns and Austin Eckroat, came to be pushed down the order to T4. Meanwhile, other professionals, including the likes of Erik Van Rooyen, arose through the ranks, painting a hopeful picture for himself on Monday.

The state of the leaderboard after the R4 suspension

Eckroat managed to cling on to his place at the top with a total of 15-under after finishing the seventh hole on Sunday. What’s more, he was able to do so by scoring two birdies on the fourth and fifth, leading him to maintain his position with a 2-under on the final day’s score. Following him closely is Rooyen, who managed a scintillating performance to propel himself a total of 29 places to T2.

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The 34-year-old carded a total of nine birdies, seven of which came in the first nine holes, enabling him to finish 63 on the final day and a total of 14 under 270 over four days of play. Well, the fans are in for an exciting final day as the men’s circuit gears up to witness a replication of the event in 2015, which saw Padraig Harrington win the same in a playoff on Monday.

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